Consumers have become increasingly particular with respect to the freshness of food and beverage products. As a result, food and beverage manufacturers have developed packaging which provides such freshness by allowing consumers to mix additional ingredients immediately prior to consumption. For example, yogurt containers are provided with lids having sealed compartments for storing additives such as granola, dried fruit, sugared confections and the like. The consumer opens the sealed compartment and mixes the additives with the yogurt immediately prior to consuming.
Beverage manufacturers are desirous of providing the same experience for consumers with respect to incorporating additives, such as flavors, vitamins, natural ingredients and the like, to base components of beverages immediately prior to consumption. Numerous closures for packaged bottled beverages have been developed which contain a compartment for storing additives. These ingredient release closures have various mechanisms to release the additives. For example, some ingredient release closures contain a frangible seal which may be broken, such as by puncturing, cutting or tearing, to release the ingredient. The frangible seal is typically designed to be broken before the closure is detached from the container, thus allowing the additive stored within the ingredient release closure to combine with the base component of the beverage with minimal spillage of the additive onto a nearby surface or the consumer. Other ingredient release closures utilize plunger type mechanisms which seal an opening between the body of the container and the compartment containing the additive. Upon moving the plunger, the additive is released into the base component of the beverage.
Regardless of the mechanism for releasing the additive into the container, the additive must be sufficiently and quickly eliminated from the ingredient release closure to insure a quality product for the consumer. Sufficient elimination depends in part on construction of the ingredient release closure. The ingredient release closure should be designed to have minimum obstructions between the opening of the compartment and the body of the container, allowing for open flow of the additive from the ingredient release closure into the container. The viscosity of the additive also plays a role in elimination because of its effect on the flow of the additive. Higher viscosity additives, such as those with a syrupy consistency, may have a slower flow rate as compared to lower viscosity additives, such as those with a watery consistency. Problems in managing the flow rate are complicated if the ingredient release closure has an obstructive configuration.
Thus, there exists a need in the art to develop a solution for improving the flow rate of additives such that, when released from an ingredient release closure, such additives may be sufficiently and quickly eliminated so as to immediately mix with the base components in containers.